Emgency units sent to the scene found a black pickup with Bangkok licence plates crushed under the front of the 10-wheel truck.

The dead bodies of the pickup driver and two other people were inside the trapped wreck. It took rescuers two hours to free the bodies.

The three victims were all family. They were identified as Pol Snr Sgt Maj Boonma Leelamuang, 40, his wife Sawittri, 35, and their son Yanwut, 13. All were from Nakhon Ratchasima’s Kaeng Sanam Nang district.

The injured truck driver, Chakkraphan Thaicharoen, 29, was also trapped an the cabin of his vehicle, which was carrying tanks filled with chemicals. Several of the containers were thrown onto the road by the force of the crash. The injured driver was rushed to a nearby hospital.

Police were investigating the cause of the crash.

The fatal accident occurred during a thunderstorm. Gusting winds uprooted several roadside trees and damaged many houses in Muang district.